Reverting to Normal
by The Pen and the Spoon
Summary: The Giant War is finally over, but things have changed. Thalia died during the battle, and only returned to life thanks to a grateful hand. Forbidden from returning to the hunt, she must find her way back in the mortal world. Quests will unfold and new foes will present themselves. Can Thalia function as a mortal demigod?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is a Thalico Fanfic. :{D Takes place somewhere recently after the Giant War. BTW, this is my first fanfic so please no flames, but constructive criticism is more than welcome! And thanks to my good friend Baritonegirl for being my beta!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO or HoO…. All the credit goes to Rick Riordan!**

**Chapter 1: Thalia POV**

"You're not a hunter anymore." The words still echoed in my brain as I stared at Lady Artemis.

"What do you mean, I'm not a hunter anymore? Why not?"

"You died." Those were the words I had been dreading to hear, though I had known they were true. "That son of Hades, however, saved you." More words that were simply a formality to hear. I knew that Nico had saved me before I had crossed the Styx.

"Can I join again, Lady Artemis?" I expected a warm welcome back, but received nothing but a cold glare.

"No, Thalia, you may not. It is by your father's words that I am sworn to never accept you as one of my maidens again, nor will he allow you to join the Amazons. He loves you greatly, my dear. He would like to see you immortal only in the highest ranks. He would like to make you an Olympian someday, my dear. Until then, he wants you to live your life as normal as possible, so that when the day comes, you will have experienced life as it truly is. Your father wishes you great wisdom, young lady, wisdom only to be surpassed by Lady Athena herself."

I sat there in shock, knowing that Lady Artemis would not allow me to return to the hunt I had grown to love so much. My father wanted me to be immortal. I was free.

* * *

I walked out of the Artemis cabin at camp laden with my bags that had been stored away since the day I had joined the hunt. Many of the campers stared at me, but who wouldn't? I was a hunter, excuse me, _former_ hunter of Artemis who had recently died and come back to life, not to mention a child of Zeus, who was walking all alone with her arms full of bags. Just great.

Annabeth walked up to me. She wore a slight frown, as if she could sense what had just happened. She grabbed half of my bags and started walking beside me.

"Hey, Thals. Are you okay?" I could tell she knew I wasn't, but it felt nice of her to consider asking.

"Nope, but that's life for you. Will you help me unpack?" I asked, even though I knew she would say yes.

"Of course!" Yep. "You know, if you want, we could always get your two favorite cousins to come help, and maybe your brother?"

I smiled, "Definitely. I guess I'll get to see everyone I missed so much more often." I opened my cabin door and dropped my bags in front of my bed, signaling for Annabeth to do the same. "You go find your Kelp Head, and I'll find Jason and Death Breath." We both laughed at the nicknames we had assigned all those years ago. "Oh, and rule for my cabin: no more than 10 minutes of sucking face per day." I said with a serious, or at least as serious as I could muster at the moment, look remembering Annabeth and Percy at their reunion last summer. She blushed a little then muttered something under her breath as she went to find Percy.

I took off in the opposite direction in search of Nico and Jason.

* * *

Jason had been staying at Camp Half-Blood since the war ended about three weeks ago. The two camps had merged after the battle in Rome to secure both camps from the oncoming enemies. Each camper had the rights to stay at whichever camp they wanted, or could choose to alternate during seasons. Jason would have returned to Camp Jupiter when the war ended, had it not been for his newly kindled relationship with Piper **(Yes, I am a Jasper fan :D)**, which Dad and I both completely approve of, and the fact that I was in a very weak state, having just returned from the dead. When I regained my health, he finally listened to me and started spending more time with his girlfriend. This was useful when I needed him because I always knew exactly where he was.

There he was, sitting with Piper on Zeus's fist. They were talking and laughing together, just like always. I slowly walked up to them, being pretty quiet so as not to interrupt their little moment. Piper, however, looked over and saw me, and nudged Jason in the gut. She said something, and then pushed him towards me, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Hey Thals, what's up?" He said, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Just wondering if you wanted to help me unpack. Piper can come too if that increases your chances of coming." I replied, jabbing him in the chest and chuckling slightly.

"Haha very funny. Who else is joining our unpacking party?" He motioned for Piper to join us.

"Well, Annabeth is dragging Percy along, and I was going to ask Nico, then you and Piper." I said counting everyone off on my fingers. Piper came up and snuggled into Jason's side.

"Four kids of the Big Three and two really powerful, extremely smart women all in the same room? Are you sure that's a good idea?" He said, true concern etched into his face. Piper and I both laughed, and he just looked more serious.

"Jason, it'll be fine." Piper said with a smile as she looked into his eyes. "And did I hear this correctly?" She asked, turning to me. "Nico is going to come?" Her eyebrows were raised, which was strange, almost like she knew something I didn't. I raised my eyebrows back at her, and it was Jason's turn to laugh.

"Okay girls, why don't we get back to Thalia's cabin and start unpacking, huh?" Jason said, still chuckling.

"Fine." We both mumbled as the three of us walked back to my cabin.

**Thanks for reading! Like I said before, this is my first fanfic, so please feel free to give any tips or suggestions for writing in general, or for this story! :{D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I am so excited! I honestly didn't think anyone would read this, much less follow it or favorite it! Anyway… I felt the need to update again… so here you go, Chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: Mr. Riordan over there owns all of the PJO and HoO stuff. Lucky ducky…**

**Chapter 2: Thalia's POV**

* * *

Jason, Piper and I had finally found Nico hiding on the roof of his cabin, and headed back to mine. There we found Annabeth and Percy just kind of sitting awkwardly on the steps. Piper smiled when she noticed their hands intertwined at their sides, and I just rolled my eyes. Everyone stood staring at me, as if waiting for something.

"What are you waiting for? Go in!" I pushed Annabeth and Percy aside lightly, or so I thought, and opened the door as they said simultaneous "Ow!"s. Everyone followed me in and I assigned bags for everyone to unpack. "Annabeth and Piper, you can help me with my clothes. Jason, you and Nico can unpack my bag of weapons. Percy, you can take the books and CDs. Sound good?" Almost everyone nodded, except Percy who looked like a pouting four year old. "Percy?"

"Why can't I help Jason and Nico with all the fun stuff?" Wow, he even sounded like a pouting four year old.

"Because, Percy. I don't trust you with anything sharp, heavy or dangerous in any way. Plus, someone has to unpack my books and CDs. Okay?"

"Fine." He muttered, finding the box with my books and pouted as he put them on the shelf. "Wait. What's this one?" He asked, holding up a small, thick paperback. "Jane Eyre? Really?" **( A/N Sorry to anyone who actually liked Jane Eyre, but I found it rather dull)** Jason and Nico laughed with him, while Annabeth and Piper looked very confused as to why they were laughing.

"What's wrong with Jane Eyre?" Annabeth asked Percy, who was almost rolling on the floor with laughter. She glared at him, and he immediately stopped and stood up.

"Nothing, nothing really. I just didn't think that Thalia would own it, I mean, isn't it a little sappy?" Percy said, now calm. This didn't last however, because Annabeth looked about ready to slit his throat.

"Jane Eyre is not sappy! It's about a woman who is so much stronger and braver than the rest. How is that sappy?" she asked, and Percy was too occupied with studying the scuffs on his shoes to look into her eyes.

"It isn't?" He tried and Annabeth looked content. Jason however, thought it would be funny to provoke them both by making a whip sound. This brought on yells from both Percy and Annabeth, while Nico was laughing, and Piper and I just sighed at the maturity level of the others in the room. After about five minutes, Piper spoke up.

"Hey!" She yelled, and you could tell that she was definitely going into charmspeak mode. "We don't want to fight about this, now do we? We should all just go back to unpacking, 'kay?" Everyone quieted down, and I gave Piper a discreet high-five.

* * *

After about and hour or two, we had finished unpacking, and we were all going down to the beach to relax. Just as we were walking past the Big House, Chiron called us over. None of us knew what this was, so we decided to just follow and not question.

He led us into the conference room, and there sat Aphrodite. This seemed a little unnerving. I mean, almost every other god or goddess has asked for some favor or another at some time, but Aphrodite never needed anything, and hardly fought against anyone, thus my confusion. Why would Aphrodite come if not for a quest? She wouldn't just come to do love magic, or whatever, because she could do that from Olympus. So why come all the way down to Camp Half-Blood?

"I bet you're wondering why I'm here, huh?" She said, as if reading my mind. When she winked at me, though, I knew she had been reading my mind. Stupid godly powers. "Well, I need help fetching some ingredients for a love potion of mine, and Hermes is to busy to pick it up for me. So, I was wondering if you guys would like to go to California for me to get it! I'll give you everything you'll need!"

"So, let me get this straight." Nico said, "You want us to go all the way to California just to get some ingredient for you?"

"Well, I figured you guys would also like to stop in San Francisco and at Camp Jupiter to see family and friends and things, and who wouldn't want a free trip? You can just mail it to me from the other camp or bring it back with you when you return. Please?"

We all looked at each other. I could tell Jason and Percy really wanted to go, and I knew Annabeth had been talking about going to see her parents soon. Nico really wanted to see Hazel, too, but wasn't really keen on traveling after the war. I looked all of them in the eye, and nodded.

"Sure, Lady Aphrodite. We will get your ingredient thingamajig. When will be leaving and what will we be looking for?" I asked, surprised that she hadn't told us these crucial details sooner.

"Oh! You'll be leaving in about an hour. I rented a limo for you to drive there, since I know Percy and Nico aren't to keen on flying. When you get to Camp Jupiter, you will find a treasure map for you to follow. Isn't that fun?!" She said, and squealed like a teenaged girl. "Your limo driver will take you anywhere you wish, and you just have to return the limo to the Empire State Building, and I'll come downstairs and take care of it. Does that answer all your questions?" She smiled and giggled. Once she made sure that none of us had questions, she waved, gave Chiron a kiss on the cheek, and disappeared. We all stared at Chiron in shock, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Why don't you all go and pack your things and get ready to go. When you're ready, meet me here so we can get the limo ready." Chiron said, and we all spread in our own separate directions.

* * *

My bag was all packed and I was ready to go. I went over my checklist one more time. Four t-shirts? Check. Shorts and pants? Check. Toothbrush and toothpaste? Check. Laptop and movies? Check. Bow and arrow, dagger, and sword? Check. I was ready to go.

I walked down to the big house and everyone was already there. They had bags across their backs and content looks on their faces.

"So I take it that the limo hasn't come yet?" I asked, even though it was obvious that it hadn't. They all shook their heads. Just then, Chiron came to announce that the limo had arrived. I smiled inwardly at the ironic timing. Things always seem to happen that way, though. It's like someone is writing our lives like a story so that everything is really convenient. Huh.

We loaded our bags into the trunk, but none of us missed the fact that this particular limo was about as long as two school busses end to end. Once the trunk was all packed up, we each hugged Chiron and climbed in. Once we did, all our jaws dropped. I mean, I know gods and goddesses are really rich, and could afford just about everything, but this thing was just plain stunning! A small, but probably really pricey, chandelier hung from the roof and the seats were stained wood with beautifully colored cushions on top. A full sized fridge stood in the corner, and it was filled with all kinds of drinks and snacks, including small amounts of nectar and ambrosia just as food! You could live in this thing really easily and comfortably. Four beds seemed to fold out of the walls in the back, right next to four old wooden wardrobes.

"Alrighty, guys!" Our driver said, "Let's say we get this show on the road!" We all cheered in agreement as he pulled out of the parking lot. California, here we come!

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Hope you guys are enjoying it, and please leave and suggestions, tips or anything you'd like! Oh, and thanks to my friend Baritonegirl for beta-ing my story!**

**-The Pen and the Spoon**


	3. Chapter 3

**So… chapter 3. Please don't expect daily updates, even though I have been updating rather frequently lately. Thanks to my beta and special thanks to Brookehyuga for reviewing! Now done with the rants, and on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own PJO or HoO, and won't anytime soon.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Thalia's POV**

As troubling as a car full of powerful demigods seems, the trip was pretty smooth. The worst attack we had was from a couple of midget people, sorry, _Pygmies. _They were a foot and a half tall, and kept asking where the cranes went. At least it added a little fun to the two and a half day drive we had to endure.

When we finally got to San Francisco, we all jumped out of the car and stretched, well, everyone except Percy, who was still asleep after the 5 hours he had previously been sleeping. We were parked near the entrance to Camp Jupiter, and Piper, Jason, Nico, and I began to unload our stuff from the trunk while Annabeth tried to shake Percy awake. The driver began to transport our things towards the gate, and we followed him up to where Hazel and Frank were standing guard.

When we were finally close enough for them to see us clearly, Hazel nearly tackled Nico to the ground. Frank gave Jason and Percy a "man hug", and backed a way slightly when Nico started to question him about Hazel. Hazel managed to calm them down, and then preceded to hug Piper, Annabeth and I. Frank had to stand guard, but Hazel led us in.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, mostly full of being tackled by friends. Finally, after dinner had concluded, Reyna waived us over to her.

"It's good to see you all, especially you, Praetor Jason." She smiled. "Now, as I believe you know, Lady Venus has dropped off a scroll of parchment for you. I haven't looked at it yet, but I figured that maybe we should discuss this tonight. You guys in?" She looked at all of us, and smiled hopefully. I laughed slightly and nodded.

"I'm in." I said. The others nodded their heads as well, and she led us off to her house.

"So, I take it this scroll thing is the reason you guys came. Get a quest from Lady Venus?" She laughed, which, after the two days I've known her previously, is out of character. Everyone else looked a little confused as well, except Jason and Percy, so I assumed it was the personal side of Reyna instead of the business side. "Come on guys, I'm a human too sometimes!" she said, which suggested that she picked up on our funny looks.

"Yeah, keyword being sometimes." Jason commented, and Percy laughed. Reyna, on the other hand slapped him.

Ever since the Giant war when Percy and Jason had to join forces to lead the army into battle, they had become really good friends. I also noticed that Jason and Reyna must have been a little more than just friends before he left, because they seemed much closer than friends who had reunited would act. Piper seemed to notice this too, because when ever they do act like that in front of her she does one of three things: 1) ignores it like nothing is happening, 2) gets upset and acts pretty jealous, or 3) just sighs and keeps walking with a little less spring in her step. Just as she sighed, Annabeth and I wrapped our arms around her shoulders and we all walked together.

We continued walking, though I honestly didn't remember the walk to the Praetors' houses from the Dining Hall being this long. Percy, Jason, and Reyna were talking Praetor talk, Annabeth, Piper, and I were having girl talk, and poor Nico was walking all alone. Piper managed to somehow catch my eyes, and she gave me a warm smile. I took that, and the nudge her elbow gave me, as a hint to go and walk with Nico.

"Hey, L'il cousin! What's up?" I asked and friendly punched him on the arm.

"First of all, after all those years being a tree, and then all those years being a hunter, I believe I am officially older than you. Second, I am walking. So are you." He said quite literally.

"Okay, Captain Obvious. And not counting the magic time stopping, I would be older than you." I added with a smirk, not feeling satisfied without being right about it.

"Well, considering the fact that I was trapped in a magic hotel for over 40 years, I think I would STILL be older than you if magic wasn't in the question." He replied, clearly wanting to be correct. So, being the mature woman I am, I responded.

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yep."

"NO!"

"Yes."

"YEAH!"

"Nope." He said, and I smirked with satisfaction. "Wait, what? I meant yes!"

"Sure you did." I added another smirk in just to rub in my successful immaturity.

"Would you guys please stop flirting long enough to realize that we're here and that we need to start the meeting now?" Percy commented, and both of us grew flushed. Piper smiled, Annabeth rolled her eyes, and Percy, Jason, and Reyna laughed.

"We weren't flirting, but let's go ahead and start then." I said, embarrassment written plainly across my face.

"Okay. Now, what was the quest that Lady Venus assigned to you?" Reyna asked.

"Well," I started, "She asked us to come here to California to pick up an ingredient for a special love potion since Hermes is too busy."

"She made you travel all the way across the country to pick up a simple ingredient?" Reyna looked confused, and honestly, I couldn't blame her because it sounded pretty absurd to me, too.

"Lady Aphrodite tried to make it interesting by making it like a treasure hunt, and she also figured that we would take any opportunity to take a free visit to see all our friends and family out here." Piper said, trying to make her mom seem a little less like an idiot.

"So, this scroll is like a treasure map then?" Reyna asked, looking even more confused than before.

"Pretty much." Jason said.

"Great. Now will you stay for a while, or will you embark on your "quest" tomorrow morning?" Reyna asked, complete with air quotes.

"Actually guys, could we maybe stay a couple days before we start this thing?" Nico asked, which surprised everyone since he really hadn't said much since we left, other than that one conversation with me.

"Sounds good to me." Annabeth said, "Percy and I have to go visit my mortal family while we're here anyway, so we might as well get that done ASAP." Percy looked a little shocked at this.

"Wait. Percy and I? As in, I have to go too?" Percy whined.

"Yes, Seaweed Brain." Annabeth thumped him here, "When I go visit my parents who haven't met my boyfriend since he was 14, it is kind of implied that I bring him with me."

"Fine." He said, and slouched back into a chair.

"So that's settled then? You guys can hang out until say, after then Senate meeting, then you will begin your quest." Reyna said, and put the scroll in a large box labeled "FOR THE SENATE MEETING". Lots of murmurs went around in a generally happy consensus. "Then have a good night and we will see you tomorrow!" Reyna said, and retreated back into her house. Jason waved at Piper, and they went into his house together. This left Annabeth, Percy, Nico, and I in the open night with nowhere to sleep.

"So, I take it we'll have a nice night under the stars then?" Annabeth asked, mainly looking at Percy.

"Oh boy, we get to get front row seats to the love-fest!" Nico whispered in my ear. I laughed, but tingled a little inside as his warm breath hit my cold, tiny ears.

We managed to slip a few unused cots from the storage shed and laid them under the sky. We all talked collectively for a while, but eventually it wore down to the soft conversations between Percy and Annabeth. After about an hour of listening to "Oh Percy, I love you." and "Oh, Annabeth, never leave me!" we all fell asleep.

In the morning, we woke up on a quiet hill, just as the sun was rising.

Percy and Annabeth went to set up bunks for us, and Nico and I wandered off to find the others.

"So… you've been here before?" I asked Nico, knowing fully well the answer he was going to give.

"Yeah, I like to come here when I'm not at Camp Half-Blood to visit my sister. I think you two would get along, by the way." He said, and smiled a bit at the end.

"I'm sure we would. I would love to actually meet her one of these days, you know." I said, trying to maybe plant an idea in his head.

"If you're suggesting that I introduce you…" He started, and looked at me with a look that clearly stated that he knew what I was trying to do.

"Please?" I asked, giving him my pouty lip.

"Sure." He said, and I smiled.

"You two flirting again?" Piper asked with a smirk.

"Wow. My little sister is finally getting a man? About time." Jason commented, and it made me mad.

"First of all, no flirting and no man for me. Just regular old Thalia. Second, I am your older sister, even though my age has kind of slowed due to tree time and being an eternal maiden for a little less than eternity." I said, crossing my arms as I did so. Nico chuckled, and Jason rolled his eyes. "By the way, thanks for making sure that we had bunks. We had wonderful cots outside last night. Shouldn't you be going to work with Reyna on the Praetor schedules and things?"

"I guess. Pipes, will you be okay without me for an hour or so?" He said, taking her hands in his and staring into his eyes. I nearly puked at the sight and I fake gagged to Nico. We laughed silently with each other. Piper looked around Jason for a second and questioningly smirked at me.

"I'll find someone, maybe I'll go talk to Gwen." She smiled and left. Jason followed her lead, waved to us, and walked away as well.

"Now, do I get to meet your sister?"

"Come on." He said, and led me towards the barracks. We walked mostly in silence until we reached the fifth cohort's barrack. He held open the door for me, like a very kind gentleman would, and followed me in. He seemed to know her well, though, because she and Frank were the only ones still in the barrack. They were passionately making out until Nico cleared his throat quite loudly. The two jumped apart, and Nico seemed quite satisfied with himself.

"Hazel, sorry to interrupt your, err… leisurely activities, but I thought I really should properly introduce you to Thalia. You two have fun, enjoy yourselves, while I go take a nice walk with Frank." Nico glared in Frank's direction, while Frank now had his head dropped.

"Just please don't scar him, physically or emotionally." Hazel asked of her older brother, looking up to him with that innocent smile that always gets kids and manipulative teens their way.

"So, I'm Hazel."

"And I'm Thalia."

"Do you want to know a big secret about my brother?"

* * *

**And that is it! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try to update soon, but I just got two new Agatha Christie novels, and if you know me, you'd know that I will be glued to those things for practically the entire weekend. Still, I'll try and update. :{D **

_**Tune in next time on…. Reverting to Normal! with your host, the Pen and the Spoon.**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay, I know I'm a bad author for not updating, but my teachers are piling on homework …. But anyway. You guys don't deserve excuses. **

**You guys are awesome! The reviews, even though there are only two new ones, touch my heart and I really truly appreciate them!**

**OH! And by the way, I am going to stop posting POVs because it's mostly going to be Thalia's unless I say otherwise. :{ ] On to the story!**

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

I leaned in closely, expecting a huge surprise. _Maybe he likes me, _I thought with an internal smile. The thought was a little strange to my mind, but I decided to just let it go.

"He…" She started, obviously trailing off purposely to plant a thought in my head. She simply stared at me, as if waiting for a response or a reaction. Getting none, she sighed. "He still sleeps with a teddy bear."

"That's all? No really good, believable lie as to what his secret is? Are you at least going to tell me what you were trying to accomplish with this?" I asked, while crossing my arms.

"Fine. Piper and I have been talking lately, and she seems to think that you need someone to date now that you aren't a you-know-what anymore. I mentioned that my brother is all too lonely and never has anything to do, so she tried to suggest us setting you two up, but I guess you're too smart to fall for it." She said, looking kind of upset that this "plan" didn't work.

"Okay. So what was the real plan?"

"That was it."

"No, really."

"Yes, really. That was it."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Not kidding, I swear. That was our plan."

"Wow. So you think we would be good together, or did you guys just try this because we both "need" someone?" I said with air quotes, trying to dig down to my friends' motives.

"Well, you both "need" someone, but we agreed that of all the people at the two camps, you two suit each other the best. Which, coming from a daughter of Aphrodite, really means something." She smiled, looking at me softly.

"So, you and Frank, you're… what now?" I asked, tired of talking about my love life and deciding to discuss that of my cousin in-law.

She blushed, but answered, "I'm not quite sure. We didn't want to decide anything permanent until the war was over, but we both like each other, or at least we used to. Frank seems a little more open minded towards girls now that we helped save the world. And anyway, why would anyone want to date a 70+ year old teenager? He hardly even smiles at me! What do you think I should do?"

"Well, I'm no daughter of Aphrodite or Venus or whomever, but in my opinion, you should pull him aside some day in the near future and be straight-forward with him, otherwise you'll never get an answer and go crazy." I said, looking her in the eye. I don't know where this advice came from, since normally I would roll my eyes at Annabeth when she would ask me. "However, you should probably ask someone with more expertise in this area than I have."

"Actually, I'm going to follow you're advice. It was pretty good, you know. Are you sure that you're not a daughter of Aphrodite/Venus?" She asked with a genuine smile on her face.

Hazel and I talked for a while, and then we walked off to find Piper and Annabeth. It was getting close to dinnertime, so all of us headed towards the dining hall to meet the guys. Reyna caught up with us along the way, and though I could tell Piper was still a little bit uncomfortable, everyone seemed to be warming up to her. We all shared camp stories and a few good laughs. As we approached the pavilion, the 4 guys stood by the entrance laughing as well.

"And the way the dummy actually managed to swing the blade back at him, that was awesome!" Percy said, and everyone but Frank laughed.

"Almost getting decapitated during sword practice is not something to laugh about! You wouldn't be laughing if your head was in danger of being caught off!" Frank said, with a bit of anger and fear in his voice while the others laughed.

"Anyway! Let's eat! I'm starving." Nico nearly ran into the dining hall, gesturing to a nice set of couches.

"Never knew that death boy could actually be hungry." Annabeth laughed at Percy's comment, and that laughter ended up spreading throughout the group, leaving a smile on everyone's faces.

We talked through dinner, occasionally getting caught up in a silence of food love for a few minutes, but we were all still smiling as we were just finishing dessert. So, as you can imagine, it puzzled me when Percy's face dropped into a frown.

"Hello, heroes. Are you enjoying your meal?" I turned around to find some lanky blond boy standing behind me. Judging by the other's faces, this was the legendary Octavian.

"What are you doing here Octavian? I thought we banished you to the ancient lands." Jason said with a snarl. Piper trying to calm him down by taking his hand in hers, to which he smiled at her for a brief moment, then turned right back to glaring at Octavian.

"Well, the gods and goddesses got sick of me and sent me back here."

"Of course they'd get sick of you, who wouldn't?" Percy mumbled, at which Annabeth frowned and lightly smacked him. She looked at him with a look that said, "Play nice, or else…" which shut him up immediately.

"Anyway, I heard you folks were going on a quest. Care for an extra member? I was appointed for this quest by the praetor." Apparently, Reyna was in earshot at that comment, and came over and smacked Octavian.

"I told you that you could sleep in the barracks of the 5th cohort tonight, I didn't give you any permission to anything but that." Reyna glared at him, and he finally slinked away.

"Thanks, Reyna." Jason said with a smile, dropping Piper's hand.

"No problem, really. Are you guys ready to leave in the morning?" She asked, looking mainly at Jason.

"I believe we are." Piper piped up. Reyna looked over at her, as if just noticing that she was there.

"Good then. I will be up by the gates to see you off safely." She nodded curtly and walked away.

* * *

That night, Piper, Hazel, Annabeth, Leo and I sat around the gardens talking. I suggested that we needed girl time, and Leo didn't want to be left out so he came along.

"So Pipes," Hazel started, "What's up with Jason? It's like he doesn't even notice you exist whenever her praetor-ness is around."

"I don't know. Reyna and I are good friends, but ever since the war ended, she and Jason have grown closer while we've just grown apart. It's sad, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he cheated on me."

"Hey," Annabeth said, "I remember when I first fell for Percy, I was 100% sure that he liked Rachel, and it seemed even more prominent since I liked him. I'm not saying you're just imagining things, because we can all see you're not, but I think maybe we're all making this out to be a bigger deal than it is. You've been together for what, a year?" Piper nodded, "Well, after about a year things always start to slow down. It's not that you've lost interest, but you have just gotten used to things. You have to add a little spark to make it take off again."

"Annabeth?" Piper asked, "Are you sure you're not the daughter of Aphrodite here?" Annabeth blushed.

"Positive. I've just been through a lot of this stuff."

"Well thanks. I can always count on you for wisdom." Piper smiled, and Annabeth nodded appreciatively.

"You know, I can always talk to him, I mean, he is my brother after all." I suggested and Piper looked grateful.

"Would you?"

"Sure. Anything for my friends." I smiled and we all hugged, including Leo.

"And Beauty Queen," Piper growled at Leo's nickname, "If things don't work out between you two, I will always be available and I'll always be this hot!" We all laughed as Piper went over and hugged Leo, then finished off by kissing him on the cheek.

"Thanks you guys, I needed this." We all smiled, standing up to go to bed.

* * *

"Little brother!" I yelled across the field. I heard two people groan.

"I told you not to call me that!" Jason yelled as I started to walk towards him. As I got closer, I saw him holding a figure of a person, which was strange since Piper had already gone to bed. Standing in front of him, I noticed he was holding the figure of Reyna.

"What's going on here, huh?" I asked, crossing my arms and glaring at them both.

"Well, umm…." Jason stuttered, dropping his hands from Reyna's waist.

"We were kissing." Reyna said flatly. Jason glared at her in shock. "What? I figure she deserves to know. I mean better that than rumors spreading around tomorrow morning about what the two praetors had done getting home so late at night."

"So Jason. Cheating on Piper already, huh? You know, we were just talking about you two. She EXPECTED you to cheat, but we all convinced her that you were better than that. I have always hated guys, some more than others, but I always thought that you would be better than them. And Reyna! Piper trusted you as a leader and a friend! And here you are, both betraying her. I have half a mind to go and tell her myself!"

"Please don't! I was going to tell her in the morning, but I want her to hear it from me, not through some grapevine of rumors." Jason said, looking down.

"You told her you loved her! And this, this is how you repay her?" I screamed at him, and I saw Reyna's eyes widen.

"You… you love her?" She asked, her eyes filling with tears. "You loved her and then you came and kissed me? So you don't really like me!"

"No! I do like you. I'm not sure how I feel about her or about you! I just… I gotta go…" He turned and left. I walked up to Reyna, hugging her. As a praetor, I had always seen her standing tall and strong on the front line of a battle, but as she broke down in front of me, I realized she had a real heart that wasn't made of steal.

"Hey," I told her. "It's not your fault. He's just really confused right now. He's acting like a jerk, but I can tell you that he means what he says, so if he says he likes you, he does. Even if he still loves Piper."

"Thanks. I'm going to bed now, but do you mind if I hang out with you girls in the morning? I need some real friends." I smiled and nodded, watching her start to smile as she walked away.

I walked back to the barracks and took my bed near the door. I fell asleep wondering how in the world we were going to get through this quest without tearing each other apart first.

* * *

**Sorry again for not updating, but I'm going to try and update more often now. Let me know what you think!**

**-The Pen and the Spoon :{D**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, for my serious lack of updating, I'm posting another chapter.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, probably never will.**

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

I woke up to the sound of my brother's shouting outside the barrack door. I sat up, kind of grumpy to have been woken at, let's see, 4 AM. I walked out the door to find him standing there, looking disappointed and Piper crying. So, I did the maybe not-so-right thing to do and turned back to get a head start on packing for the quest we were leaving for in 2 hours.

I threw together a quick bag with a bow and arrow, Aegis, a sword and dagger, a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, a sweater, and some eyeliner. I already had some bags of ambrosia and a canteen of nectar packed just for emergencies. I threw the bag over my shoulder, walked out the door and muttered, "Good morning," to the arguing couple and walked towards the gate. I figured, as long as I was awake and ready, I might as well just wait for the rest of the group to be better to leave.

I approached the Little Tiber and saw another tired-looking gloomy guy sitting on the banks, a bag at his side. He seemed to just be staring at the water as if it was challenging him to a staring contest he would never win.

"Hi." I said as I set my bag down next to his, plopping myself down on the banks. I looked over and saw the dark black eyes of the son of Hades staring back into my own.

"Jason and Piper wake you up too?" He asked, though he didn't seem as mad about it as I was.

"Yeah. How long have they been going at it?" I asked, kind of curious to know just how long they had been fighting. Sure, it was an important fight, but not something you needed to do early in the morning on the day you were starting a quest.

"Well, I got up about an hour and a half ago, but it seemed like they had already been fighting for quite a while beforehand, so I don't know, maybe 2 and a half, 3 hours?" He said, seeming just as exasperated as I was.

"Great. Getting stuck in a car with a fighting couple that's been up all night." I grumbled, which Nico laughed at.

"I know! Who's going to be the lucky winner who gets to sit between them?"

We laughed together, and soon the time began to pass a lot quicker. Before we knew it, the sun had risen and the rest of the gang began to show up.

Hazel and Annabeth came walking over at around 5:30 with their arms around Piper, who still looked a little down. However, when she saw Nico and I, she started to smile gently. This confused me a bit, but I just shoved it aside.

Around 5:45 Jason and Frank showed up. Both of them looked a little out of it, but they both moved over so that Frank was next to Hazel and Jason between Nico and me.

Finally, at about 5:59, just under a minute before we had to leave, Percy and Leo appeared running across the field with their bags slung over their backs. Annabeth rolled her eyes. Piper laughed. Percy ran over to Annabeth's side and kissed her quickly. Annabeth's nose scrunched up and she pulled away.

"Did you brush your teeth this morning?" She asked, and Percy cast a glance downward. "EW!"

"Anyway," Leo piped up, "We should get on the road. Where's Reyna?"

"Here!" She ran up, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "Take this." She handed us an envelope. "It has the map and the ingredients. Hope you have a safe journey. Please iris-message me when you are returning so I can have the cohorts make you each a bed." She was pretty emotionless and cold throughout the speech. Everyone else muttered a quiet "thanks" as they climbed in the car. I stood back for a moment.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, just call me. Always free to talk unless I'm on a quest." I smiled softly, and turned around to get in the car when I heard another quiet "thanks" coming from behind me.

"Seating arrangements!" Leo yelled, "I will be behind the wheel. Nico will get to sit next to me up front due to pre-stated motion sickness issues. Last front row seat goes to Percy. None of us wants to endure another car trip full of Percabeth making out in the back seat. Next row. Jason on the left, Piper in the middle, Thalia on the right." Piper and Jason tried to argue, but Leo just glared at them. "Last row. Annabeth on the left, Hazel in the middle, Frank on the right. For those of you couples who are not separated let me remind you that nobody want to deal with a couple making out next to them. Please keep your lips and everything else to yourself. Thanks for driving Leo Van lines, and we hope you enjoy your travels! On y va!"

"Since when do you speak French?" Hazel asked.

"That's French? Awesome! But anyway, let's go!" Leo turned the music up way too loud and started the car. The wheels started to turn, and we were off.

* * *

**Ok, so it was a little short, but I'm going to try and update again today or tomorrow! Thanks for reading!**

**-The Pen and the Spoon :{D**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Another chapter for you guys, and now we're actually getting to the adventure part! ****BTW, if I don't update before then, I will most likely NOT be posting through all of November**** because as some of you may know, it's NaNoWriMo and all of my time spent writing will be going towards those 50,000 words. I am going to make sure to post December 1****st**** if at all possible as a thanks to all of you who I really hope will continue to follow this story.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own it, never will.**

* * *

**Chapter 6:**

We sat in the car for almost 7 hours, watching the beautiful Californian hills roll past the window. Being stuck next to the arguing couple was almost as bad as being stuck between Percy and Annabeth for more than 2 minutes. The entire trip was spent listening to Jason and Piper fight. The few moments that they weren't screaming at each other, however, were spent screaming at me to choose between the two of them.

Finally, as we pulled up to the LA coast, we got our first bit of silence in what seemed like ages. Everyone climbed out of the car and stood staring in awe at the amazing sun-filled beach in front of us. It was part of a private residence so nobody was on the beach but one woman who was laying in a mini beach cabana with a handsome guy with a silver platter serving her drinks.

"Looks like we have been led to Lady Aphrodite's, or Venus if you prefer, LA home." Leo said, a determined smile on his face as if he were convinced that he would earn her affections.

"She sent us across the country to come to one of her summer homes? Couldn't she at least have had the kindness to send us to Milan or Paris or something?" Percy said, grumbling like a two year old again.

"Percy, if the goddess sent us here, then she has a reason, _probably._" She mumbled the last part.

The woman in the cabana walked up to them in her stylish string bikini, making Leo's eyes bulge out of his head. Percy grabbed Annabeth's hand tightly, and Jason and Frank both wrapped their arms protectively around their girlfriends.

"Hey guys! Nice of you to make it! Now, this quest might take a little longer than I thought because all my LA venders are out of stock. Here's a new updated map, and I'll meet you guys at Camp Jupiter to assess the quality of your work when you are done. Thanks again!" Aphrodite waved at the group and ran back to her cabana, leaving Leo's jaw on the floor. Piper sighed and turned back to the car, and making sure there was distance between them, Jason followed. Hazel dragged Leo by the ear to the car with Frank laughing in tow. Percy, Annabeth, Nico, and I slowly found our way back to the car, chatting a little along the way.

When we got back to the car, Leo started the engine and began to pull out of the beautifully paved driveway. "Where are we headed first, Supreme Commander Leo?" Frank had thought that Leo's nickname during the Giant War was hilarious, and even now, several months after the Argo II had broken and the war had ended, continued to call Leo by it.

Leo glared at Frank, as he now hated the nickname, and responded, "Well, the map says we need to go to Mount St. Helens." Percy and Annabeth both looked at each other and blushed, which was probably due to the fact that they had both nearly died there 3 years ago, and usually left out the fact that that was where they had first kissed. "It says down here at the bottom that there is something we need to find at each of these destinations, and once we find this mystery thing, then the ingredient thingy will present itself."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, there might be monsters down there because it is a huge source of evil." Percy looked pretty nervous saying this.

"We should be fine. Remember? You called the Tartarus Collection Agency after we finished the Battle of Manhattan to eradicate all the evil creatures lurking down there. Unless…" She looked into Percy's eyes, "You never called. Wonderful. Okay guys, we will be facing an army of telekhines forging weapons down there. They may have retreated after the Titans' defeat, but we better be prepared just in case."

"Why are we going to Mt. St. Helens anyway? I mean, I'm sure it's beautiful and all, but unless she wants us to get rocks or trees, I'm pretty sure it's kind of boring. Nothing against mountains or anything." Leo said. "Unless… maybe she wants us to relive the first time we knew we were in love with the person we're dating!" Leo looked at us with a foolish grin, but we all rolled our eyes, making him turn back to face the road he was currently driving on.

"We'll find out, but I'm pretty sure that that won't be it. I mean, what's so romantic about Mt. St. Helens?" Percy said in a rush.

"I totally agree! Who would finally realize that they love someone inside of a mountain? That's like getting a crush on someone in the back of a zoo truck." Annabeth continued and Percy nodded.

"You _did_ get a crush on someone in the back of a zoo truck." I stated.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Remember? Before you rode into Vegas on a zebra? When you and Percy were talking in the back of the zoo truck?"

"So maybe that part is true, but still. It seems pretty ridiculous that any of us would have fallen in love in a big lump of dirt." Percy said.

By this point, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel were all staring in shock and confusion.

"Anyway, it will be quite a while, so kick off your shoes, unless your feet stink, and get comfy!" Leo said, driving along the highway.

* * *

**Sorry, I know it's short but I've got to start my NaNoWriMo now so… I'll see you guys in December (I hope)!**

**-The Pen and the Spoon :{D**


End file.
